This morning, I finally got the chance to crack open my collection of John Wayne movies. I've been leaning toward this title for a while, so I put it in the player and settled in for a few hours. The movie is based on a book called Harm's Way by James Bassett. It's fiction and doesn't have historical ships and characters in it (other than the president, etc.). And side note: The poster for this movie is really ugly.
The movie begins with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Rock Torrey is outside the harbor and tracks down the Japanese sub in the area. This demotes him until his intelligence friend gets him on a mission in the South Pacific. Now, he's an admiral and gets his own command. Sprinkled into the story is a love story, a son he hasn't seen in 18 years, hierarchy politics and battle plans.
This movie was almost three hours long, but I didn't feel it. I saw both an overview of what was happening and how it affected individual characters. The storyline with Eddington was gross, but I was happy Rock stood his ground for no medal recommendation. I also want to give some major props to the man who was in charge of the map during the final battle. It looked really great, and for some reason, I couldn't stop looking at it.
I saw some negative reviews complaining the movie was dragged out and that John Wayne didn't die. I wouldn't expect John Wayne to die, but I was more concerned about "Mac." If something happened to Mac, I was going to riot. Everyone else could die, and most of them did, but if Mac died, I was going to hate the movie. I can't really explain the passion behind my feelings for that, but that's just how it is.
Anyway, I was a bit surprised the movie was in black and white, but it didn't really bother me. Most of the footage looked good, but there were a few pretty "model" moments. The length didn't bother me, and I liked the story. Most of the deaths were a bummer, but I couldn't complain about them. It was war after all...Good Movie!
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